November 11, 2015

Would You Read It Wednesday #192 - Cursing Cats (PB)

Remember how a few weeks back I was all excited because my house was no longer two-tone but all one color... after a year or more of being unfinished?

Apparently this is a trend because let me tell you about my stove.

Once upon a time, we moved into this house with a new stove.

22 years later (which was last year), on Thanksgiving, the oven decided it didn't feel like working any more. Our turkey did not cook. Really. I am not making this up.

Now, you'd think, given the trauma of Thanksgiving without a turkey, we would have gotten right on that and bought a new stove immediately... But that is not the way things work on Blueberry Hill. After all, the oven still functioned well enough to bake brownies and cookies, which is pretty much all I use it for :)

So we coasted along happily using the stove top... and then summer came and we could use the grill outside... and all was well.

But a few weeks ago, we started talking about Thanksgiving. And using my keen powers of reasoning, I astutely realized that we were going to find ourselves in the same predicament this year as last, since our oven had not magically resurrected itself, which did not bode at all well for the Thanksgiving turkey.

So I bit the bullet and bought a new stove!

It's so pretty!

It has convection roast and convection bake as options (not requirements, for those of us who embrace change slowly) and a simmer burner and a power burner and a griddle/grill for the stovetop. If all goes according to plan, our Thanksgiving turkey will cook this year!

There's just one little thing.

The gas has yet to be hooked up.

And it turns out the stove/oven doesn't work so well without it :)

But that's supposed to happen today. TODAY, I tell you! So let's get ready for some baking!

And speaking of baking makes me think of Something Chocolate (shocking, I know :)) How about some triple chocolate cheesecake with oreo crust? Sound good to you? It sounds good to me!

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust from OMG Chocolate Dessertshttp://omgchocolatedesserts.com/triple-chocolate-cheesecake-oreo-crust/and yes the recipe is on that link :)

YUM! And I believe it covers all the basic food groups... dairy, veggies (chocolate comes from beans, remember?!), whole grains (there has to be some kind of flour/wheat product in oreos!), and chocolate! Eat up, lambies! You need your strength! :)

Now that we are all fortified, and our brains are functioning at 200% power, today's pitch comes to us from Sandy who says, "I started buying picture books for my kids before I even had kids! And even though my seven-year-old granddaughter can read chapter books on her own, she still lets me read picture books to her. I've published one story in the now defunct "Pennywhistle Press," a Gannett Press newspaper insert for kids. I also write non-fiction articles for local publications."You can find Sandy on FB at Sandy Lowe Ink.

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Cursing Cats
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: Tired of being misused and overdressed by a little girl, Jack and Dave learn "curse words" from watching TV. They hope that using words like "bifurcated" and "crepuscular" in front of the girl will ensure her grandmother won't let her play with them anymore. They succeed, but in a way they weren't expecting.
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Sandy improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read Itor on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. There are openings in January so you've got a little time to polish up your pitches and send yours for your chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Sandy is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to getting my stove hooked up and trying it out! Plus, my lovely sister-in-law, upon hearing we were getting a new stove, sent me a new cookbook to go with it! Hopefully it's idiot-proof and will provide recipes for the cooking-challenged that I can actually be successful with! Wish me luck! :)

Look what Alison, Kelly, Diane, Debbie and Donna gave me!

Look what Brooke gave me!

Look what Megan gave me!

About Me

Welcome to the wonderful world of writing for children! I am a writer, reader, animal-lover and chocolate enthusiast who lives on Blueberry Hill with my husband, kids, and dogs. Please check out my website at www.susannahill.com to learn more about my books and accompanying activities as well as lots of info for writers, teachers and parents.